It is only too much food if you think of it in terms of one meal. If you remember all the meals you can make out of it after Thanksgiving then it does not have to be too much. The turkey sandwich for lunch the day after thanksgiving loaded with stuffing and cranberry sauce and everything else is one of my favorite meals.

Our Thanksgiving dinners always involves an overabundance of food, but everyone goes home with leftovers. That is part of the fun

If you poke around, you'll find the recipe for make-ahead mashed potatoes.

Another thought - you can order a cooked turkey ahead of time at the market, and pick it up the "day of." They look delish spinning around on the rotisseries. I might check at Whole Foods. Don't know if you have one in your area...but the other day - in the the deli section - there was a big juicy cooked bird calling my name

Re pies - Marie Callender's has quite a selection. You can order the pies ahead and pick them up when you can.

Charlie, I have to organize and do a lot ahead of time because I can't stand up for very long at a time.
The first thing you need to remember is that you don't need to feed your guests the minute they walk through the door! Have a light appetizor for them to nibble on, and let everyone have a glass of wine (or beverage of choice) and visit for a bit.
Now, about the timing. You can get almost everything ready prior to the day of the feast. I make a very detailed list of what I need, and do my shopping on Saturday. On Monday, I always make my dressing and freeze it in the pan I'm going to bake it in, and start thawing the turkey (I do it in a cooler in the garage). On Tuesday, I make vegetable casseroles...mashed potato casserole, corn casserole, green bean casserole...and store them in the fridge.
On Wednesday we brine the turkey. I make the fillings for my pies, thaw the dressing in the fridge, and clean and blanch my brussels sprouts.
Thursday morning, I bake my pies, put the turkey in the oven, and boil the giblets for the turkey gravy.
By then the kids have started arriving. My step-daughter always brings a cheeseball and we thaw a roll of venison salami for snacks. She and my daughter bring assorted dishes (salads, other vegies).
When the turkey comes out of the oven, I tent it with foil and let it stand. Then the dressing goes in, as it takes the longest to cook. While it's cooking, my husband starts cooking the bacon & garlic in an electric skillet for the brussels sprouts, and I collect the juices from the turkey, combine with the liquid from the giblets, add the chopped giblets and a slurry of flour and water. After it thickens, I add one can of turkey gravy mix and adjust the seasoning.
In the meantime, the dressing will have gotten nice and crisp on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside. It comes out to stand, and the vegetable casseroles go in the oven & microwave to warm up.
When the brussels sprouts have sauteed in the skillet, HB adds the pine nuts and turns the heat down to low. Then he carves and plates the turkey, and we set everything out on the buffet except for the rolls and butter, which go on the table.
By the time we have all eaten, I am usually ready to drop, and the girls clean up the kitchen. There really isn't all that much mess because most of the prep was done earlier in the week.
Ya know, the food is one great thing about Thanksgiving, but the hugs are the best part.

Okay, so I'm back again with the same question 2 parts flour, 2 parts fat, I got that, but how much liquid? Sorry to be so annoing. Oh, yeah, a note no can or pacaged gravy, it must be home made, so that's where my problem is.

For each 2 cups gravy desired, use 3 tablespoons fat, 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, and 2 cups of liquid (meat juices or broth, vegetable juice, bouillon, and/or water). In a separate container with a lid, shake together all-purpose flour and about 2 cups cool water. This is called a slurry. Adding the thickener (flour) in this way helps to prevent lumps from forming.

Once the drippings in the pan are lightly bubbling, slowly add the slurry mixture to the gravy pan, stirring constantly. If it starts to thicken immediately, stop adding the remaining slurry, you may not need to use the whole amount depending on how much or little drippings were in the pan. If lumps do develop, you should be able to use a wire whisk to remove them.

Simmer gently about 10 minutes to cook the flour all the way through (undercooked flour gives off a raw taste). Correct the salt and pepper to taste.

Pour the gravy into a warmed sauceboat or wide-mouthed pitcher for serving.